Page 17 of The Most Eligible Lord in London
Fortunately for him, the dance was beginning, otherwise she would have given him a set-down. It was one thing for her to criticize her brother. It was quite another for someone outside of the family to do so. She responded politely to his brief attempts at conversation, but was glad when the dance finished.
Her next set was with Lord Belmont. He was not as starched up at Lord Bottomley, but neither was there anything about him to awaken her more tender feelings. On the other hand, she did not have to worry about making conversation. Lord Belmont was more than happy to talk about himself, and his life was not nearly as interesting as Lord Anglesey’s had been.
By the end of her third dance, Adeline had decided meeting the right gentleman for her was going to be just as difficult as she had originally thought. Yet, the next dance was with Lord Littleton, and try as she might, she could not but look forward to it. At least he knew how to make interesting conversation.
Chapter Seven
Frits gazed at Lady Adeline—who was inconveniently standing across the ballroom from him with Lady Dorie and the rest of her friends—and swallowed. Every time she turned, she sparkled, as if the stars had chosen to take up residence with her. Her only jewelry was the pearl necklace and eardrops she’d worn at Almack’s. If he had his way, she’d wear rubies mixed with the pearls, or even with diamonds.
Turley snatched two glasses of champagne from a footman. “Don’t you have some lady with whom you should be standing up?”
“Not yet.” Not until the supper dance, if Frits had his way. Not another woman at the ball interested him. “I could ask you the same question.”
“My answer is the same as yours.” His friend raised his glass in a salute. “I suppose at some point we shall be recruited to stand up with ladies who have no partners.”
He’d purposely avoided glancing around. Lady Worthington, Lady Augusta’s sister-in-law, or her mother, Lady Wolverton, were no doubt on the hunt for stray gentlemen with nothing to do but dance to their tune.
“There are palms to hide behind.” Frits would have to crouch down, but it would be worth it.
Turley looked at Frits as if he’d gone mad. “It’s not as desperate as all that. As a gentleman who is a guest, I do not like being commandeered, but as a brother, I was glad of the practice when Elizabeth was first out.”
Frits rested his eyes on Lady Adeline again and could not stop a scowl forming when Bottomley led her out to dance. Then something in her expression changed, and he knew his lordship had not found favor with her.
“You’re staring at her.” There was no need to explain who her was. Turley lifted a brow. “You’ve met her two times?”
“Four.” If one wished to be precise, and it seemed important that one was.
“I assume you have spoken to her this evening. When was the third time?”
If one was required to speak to a lady in order to have met her, then it was three times. “I took her riding today.”
Turley gave Frits a long, steady look. “And how did it go?”
He thought back to their conversation and felt his lips inch up. “She likes pigs and farming.”
Turley, in the middle of taking a sip of wine, choked. He covered his mouth with his hand, then his shoulders started to shake, and he turned his back to the room. After a series of coughs and almost silent laughter, he turned back around. “Pigs?” And set himself off again.
“It was a pet.” One look at Turley and Frits decided there was no point in explaining what would not have been understood. “The important part is that I now know she likes the country more than Town.”
“You think she likes the country more.” His friend took a long draw from his glass. “She can’t have been here more than a week or two. That could very well change as the Season goes on. Most ladies find Town fascinating.”
He hadn’t thought of that. Not even his mother had mentioned the possibility. “But it might not.”
“Still, to be sure, it will take most of the Season,” Turley pointed out.
Hell. Frits downed his wine and took another glass from a footman. Why could these things not be simple? “I do not even wish to think about that. Isn’t it enough that I must contend with her having Lady Dorie as a friend?”
“That is the reason this will take so long. You could find another lady.” Turley’s tone was hopeful.
“What do you have against Lady Adeline?” He barely even knew her.
“Nothing at all. She appears to be a nice young lady. I merely attempted to point out that if you chose another lady, one who was not a friend of Lady Dorie’s, it would make your life easier.”
Frits turned to glare at Turley and found him gazing at one of the young ladies who had been in the group at the Park with Ladies Adeline and Dorie. What was her name? Miss Featherton. That was it. If that was the way Turley was headed, he’d better take her family’s influence into consideration. “Have you asked her to dance yet?”
“No,” he responded, still staring at the lady. “I have not had an opportunity.”
It was not good luck to stand alone. It made it easier to be snagged to dance with someone, but Frits was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. He wasn’t the only one who needed a wife. It was time his friend set up his nursery as well. “I shall hold down this area, if you wish to brave rejection.”
